ECH 384 Science Blog : #26 Kapok Tree and Other Environmental Science Activities

#26 Kapok Tree and Other Environmental Science Activities

Reenactment of The Great Kapok Tree

(Source: Dr. Mellisa Clawson)

Objectives:

· Children will engage in a whole group setting while acting out the story of The Great Kapok Tree

· Children will practice reading aloud assigned roles when preforming The Great Kapok Tree

· Children will explore the diverse ecosystem and animals within the Rain forest as the story is read aloud and acted out.

Materials:

· The Great Kapok Tree by Lynne Cherry

· Markers

· Dowels

· Construction Paper

· Scissor

· Glue

Introduction to Activity:

· Discuss the Rain forest and the animals within the ecosystem

· Read the Great Kapok Tree

· Why the Kapok was important to the animals and then assign children their roles

Description of Activity

Children will have read The Great Kapok Tree aloud with the teacher. Children will create props such as the tree porcupines, a boa, butterflies, Kapok Tree, and more. Once props have been created children will act out their assigned parts to create the story of the Great Kapok Tree. Restate the question to the class why the Kapok was important to the animals within the Rain forest.

Sample Inclusive Practices:

· Adaptive Creative Materials (markers, crayons, etc.)

· Glue Sticks

· Adaptive Scissors

· Accessible Area within the classroom to act as a stage

Specific Learning Outcomes

· Each child will write or draw at least two animals that live in the Kapok Tree inside a science journal

Additional Related Activities:

· Feathers in Oil

· Read the Lorax by Dr. Seuss

Building a habitat for Dinosaurs

For this activity we were given colorful sand, shells, Popsicle sticks, clay and dinosaurs. We had to crate a habitat out of those materials for the two dinosaurs that we were given. My group decided to take a sand dollar to create a house for one dinosaur and use shells and a sea star for the other.

Making a Dam

For this activity we were given materials with the objective to make sure that no water could go through our dam and get the sand on the other side wet. My group used clay and Popsicle sticks to keep the water back. We made a wall of Popsicle sticks supported with clay and then we made a wall of clay and pushed it into the paper plate so that absolutely no water could get through. And it worked! Our group was the only one who's dam didn't let any water through.

Books: